December 2024 Blanco y Tinto Club

Tentenublo 2020 Olivan-Ruiz ‘Custero’ Rioja Regular Price: $28.99 Club Price: $ 24.64 Buy Now

In the heart of Rioja, where tradition runs deep Roberto Oliván and his wife, Leyre Ruiz, are crafting wines that tell a story of place and time. The name Tentenublo comes from an old village tradition—ringing bells to chase away hailstorms, a reminder of how people and nature have always been connected here.

Their vineyard isn’t one big expanse but a mosaic of 22 small parcels tucked into the foothills of the Cantabria mountains. Each plot has its own quirks, shaped by the cooling breezes from the Atlantic, the warmth of the Mediterranean, and the steady flow of the Ebro River. Here, varieties like Tempranillo, Garnacha, Cañagraño, and Graciano soak up the character of the land, each one adding a little something special to the mix. 

When I first tasted Custero, it felt like stepping into another time, reminding me of the young wines the winemakers and grape growers once made for themselves to enjoy early. Traditionally crafted with carbonic maceration for a fresh, easy-drinking style, these bright fruity wines have come a long way from the simple examples of Beaujolais Nouveau. Custero brings together nine co-planted varieties—Tempranillo, Garnacha, Graciano, Monastrell, Viura, Malvasía, Malvasía Riojana, Garnacha Gris, and Calagraño—into a beautifully balanced and elevated expression of this classic winemaking method.

There’s something honest about it—like it carries the spirit of the makers, the land and the old ways. You can taste the wildness of the open-barrel fermentation, the light touch that lets the wine shine, and the quiet influence of the French oak that adds a little polish without overshadowing the character. It’s the kind of wine that makes me pause, savor the flavors and the story it’s telling—of the hills, the vines, and the people who care for them with a lot of heart. There are other Bodegas still making this style of wine but it is rarely exported. I think I've found a new favorite Rioja blend.  —JL

Invincible 2021 #2 Douro Branco Regular Price: $27.99 Club Price: $ 23.99 Buy Now

 Typically, if you see the word ‘blend’ on a bottle of wine, it usually means it contains multiple kinds of grapes that were harvested and vinified separately. These batches are then combined in a way that produces a balanced wine. This is a tried and true method, but it is not the only way to make a blend. A ‘field blend’ usually comes from one (sometimes a few) vineyards and rather than sorting the grapes, the whole lot is combined before fermentation allowing the grapes to mature into wine as one cohesive batch. It’s difficult to generalize about field blends, but if there’s one thing we could reach a consensus on, it would be that this style of blend often exhibits interesting, exotic flavors and aromas, with a sort of rustic flair. This month’s 2022 Invincible #2 Douro Branco is one such example, and more so, an excellent example of a field blend done extremely well.

This wine’s story begins with the combined efforts of Portuguese winemaker Rita Marques and South African winemaker Mark Kent. The former is a member of the young, dynamic, generation of Portuguese winemakers dedicated to low intervention, low alcohol, terroir driven wines. The latter is a seasoned winemaking veteran, and longtime former cellar master at Boekenhoutskloof in South Africa. You may be familiar with this producer by their ever-popular ‘Chocolate Block’ label. The two initially collaborated on winemaking projects in South Africa for the 2015 through 2017 vintages, before experimenting on small winemaking endeavors together in Portugal for the 2018 and 2019 vintages. Something must have clicked in those Portuguese years because the two went all in together to start their very own estate in Casais do Douro, near the Pinhão municipality. Thus the Companhia de Vinhos Invencível was born in 2020, and the two have been making wine there ever since. 

Left to right, Mark and Rita

The field blend technique is well suited, and probably necessary for the vineyards the duo purchased. The Companhia de Vinhos Invencível sites in the Douro are old and traditionally planted, meaning that there are dozens of varietals interspersed throughout the vineyards. The Invincible #2 Douro Branco comes from 90+ year old vines, and its primary varietals are Rabigato, Códega, Donzelinho Branco, Boal, and Códega do Lorinho plus whatever else might be hidden in the vineyard. 

In a word, the resulting wine is gorgeous. Blousey, fleshy apricot notes meld with honeycomb and zesty citrus. Its fruit profile is vaguely reminiscent of the exotic southern Italian Fallanghina varietal. Bracing acidity helps balance some of the denser yellow orchard fruit notes, and hints of clotted cream, lees, and smoky minerality round out the finish. This textured wine absolutely overdelivers for its price point. Treat as you would a fine Chablis, rich fish dishes and chicken in creamy sauces are this wine’s best friend.